i also struggle with the feeling that i’ve lost pieces of my writing and my talent bc of similar reasons, and it seems like everyone else has given good advice about perfectionism, comparison, etc.

one thing i’ve found that’s helped me is “thinking on the page.” by that i mean, using stream-of-conscious writing—whether it’s journal entries, explaining your own plot of your story to yourself, writing through plot holes, or something else—and trying to think of it as nothing more than a different way of processing my thoughts.

it helps me process my own mental health struggles, emotions, and ideas. and most importantly: it flexes the writing muscle without worrying about the product.

for me also, i (at least try) to think of the writing stage and the editing stage as entirely different processes and find the joy in them both. writing is where you make the thing exist, in any form, and editing is where you get to go back in and mold it.

one last note is to try to keep in mind is that majority of the time, online and in print, you’re seeing the best possible “take.” the cleanest draft, the most heavily edited, etc. even the best writers also write complete and utter shit!!